NEW ORLEANS — It's been seven months since Hurricane Ida slammed into southeast Louisiana forcing some senior apartment complexes in New Orleans to shut down due to damage. Tenants from one senior living center were finally told to move back in last week, but they reached out to WWL-TV for help, claiming the conditions are still not livable.
"This is walking into my building at Peace Lake Towers," Lucrece Phillips said in a video, showing scaffolding above her.
In the video, she also showed a hallway with water on the floor and a room that appears to have black mold inside.
"This is where we live," she said.
Peace Lake Towers on Chef Menteur is an income-based complex for seniors 55 and up and those with disabilities. In September, the city shut it down after determining it was unfit to live in because of damage from Hurricane Ida.
"During Hurricane Ida the generators were broken here so the elderly were trapped in here for about a week," she said.
Phillips said tenants were given hotel vouchers since then as the complex was under construction until last week.
"They just told us it was time for us to come back, that they couldn’t pay for the hotel any longer," she said.
"This is the hallway where I live; dirt, dust, debris," she said in the video she took of her hallway.
They are concerned that construction does not appear to be complete.
"You can see with your own eyes it's incomplete, but they saw fit to move us back in here," said another tenant, Wayne Gardner. "They done blocked the shoots off where you put the trash down, now the trash is just stacking up. The trash just stacking up."
Last week, Phillips found a letter from her property manager letting her know her unit was broken into in January. She isn't sure what was taken and what is missing due to the construction in her unit.
"We have so many items missing. My bed, my TV is missing, they can't find it," she said.
Phillips bought an air mattress and was promised by management she would get reimbursed.
The seniors are begging City Council Member Oliver Thomas for help.
"Definitely the place isn't ready. My assistant went out there a week ago and said definitely they shouldn’t be moving people back in," Thomas said.
He plans to reach out to management next week to find out why residents were allowed to move back in.
"Gross mistreatment. Misunderstanding. Definitely not humanitarian," he said about the conditions.
Thomas also plans to send code enforcement to the complex.
"The city needs to inspect that place to see if its up to code for people moving back in," he said.
"This is not livable for no human building. How would you like to live on a construction site?" Gardner said in frustration.
"My worries and concerns are the health and safety issues here and returning before it's completely finished," Phillips said.
They are hopeful for answers to ensure they are living in a safe place.
"Someone needs to do something about this," Phillips said in the video she took of the inside of the complex.
Peace Lake Towers management and their upper management company said in a statement:
This extensive renovation was in progress when Hurricane Ida caused damages and resulted in the temporary relocation of residents. Millennia secured temporary housing for residents who did not elect to stay with family and friends. At the beginning this was difficult with the shortage of rooms available in the immediate aftermath of the crisis caused by the storm, and the staff ensured that all residents had meals, medicine etc. until rooms with kitchenettes were secured; plus, staff remained in touch through the displacement, planning holiday meals, etc.
Last week, Millennia received approvals for the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, permitting residents to return to the renovated units in the building. The extensive renovation to bring the building up to modern standards is continuing; however, the initial construction plan called for an in-place relocation (so, it did not call for residents to move offsite during construction, but the storm necessitated otherwise). During this transition of moving residents back home, every effort is being made to minimize the inconvenience that may be caused by the continuing renovation.
